Ethnologies Seeks Submissions for Special Issue on Children and Folklore

The editors of Ethnologies, the journal of the Folklore Studies Association of Canada, would like to invite submissions for a special issue on the topic of children and folklore.

Perennially an interest from the discipline’s early days, the study of children’s folklore came into its own with the publication of Iona and Peter Opie’s The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren examined the folklore children communicate amongst themselves rather than the folklore performed for them by elders. Brian Sutton-Smith moved this work forward by adverting to the context of performance and integrating theories of child development. In the United States, scholars such as Simon J. Bronner and Elizabeth Tucker have broadened our understanding by noting emerging modern contexts and extending the scope of inquiry to adolescent and even university-aged youth. Less work has been done in Canada, with the notable exceptions of Edith Fowke’s extensive collectanea and the work of Carole H. Carpenter, who addressed some issues surrounding multiculturalism and cosmopolitanism amongst children. Furthermore, analysis of Canadian children’s folklore outside of White-identified communities, including First Nations and new Canadians, has not been fully explored.

In examining the academic lineage of the study of children’s folklore, it becomes clear that we need more Canadian voices. Ironically, under current research ethics guidelines, it is increasingly difficult to do research with children, which has also added to the complexity of conducting this fieldwork. In order to highlight the work of these and other folklorists, and to provide a venue for the study of the vibrant folk culture of children, the editor invites submissions that will explore new research directions, and further our understanding of children’s folklore in Canada.

Potential topics may include, but are certainly not limited to:

• Folklore of children, folklore about children, and folklore and children • Children’s folklore in popular culture • Children’s rites of passage • Legends and narratives about children or childhood.

In general, surveys of children’s folklore are not appropriate for this issue, unless they include significant context which is grounded in sound theory.